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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1961-08-03, Page 6Worlds Toughest Tunneling Job The staccato roar of a power- ful high -speech drill, interrupted at regular intervals by deafen- ing explosions,has formed the uneasy background to the sleep- ing and waking hours of the townsfolk of Chamonix, the French ski resort, for some time now. The deafening blasts shake the country for miles around. And the residents have resign- ed themselves to the fact that they will have to live with it until 1003 at least, Thai is the estimated time of completion or what experts have called "the toughest job on earth," the drilling of the world's longest road tunnel under the towering, craggy peaks of the mountain that dominates the border of France and Italy — Mont Blanc, The purpose of the seven -mile tunnel, which can only be rival- led in its successful completion by the much -vaunted but not - yet -begun Channel Tunnel, is to cut the road distance between France and Italy. It will also provide a covered highway that can be used throughout the bitter winter that transforms the dizzy precipices and spiralling roads of Mont Blanc !nto a permanent death trap, The project is being tackl- ed jointly by French and Italian teams from beth sides of the mountain. This $35,000,000 enterprise is only being accomplished through Button -on Magic PRINTED PATTERN Button On capelet, wrap skirt presto! Playsuit turns into a autifui town outfit, Sew this inning trio for sports or sun - Mug in brilliant cotton, Printed Pattern 4880: Misses' Sizes 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. Size 16 flaysuit takes 2 yards 35 -inch abric; skirt 33/4 yards. Send FIFTY CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal {rote for safety) for this pattern. Please print plainly SIZE, NAME, ADDRESS, STYLE NUMBER. Send order to Anne Adams, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New Toronto, Ont. The biggest fashion show of Summer, 1961 — pages, pages, pages of patterns in our new Color Catalog. Hurry, send 35¢. SATELLITE CAN DETECT MISSILES AND NUCLEAR BLASTS — From Point Arguello, Calif., a record-setting Midas sky -spy satellite soared 'into orbit July 12 with an experimental missiie- hunting payload that passes over Russia. Midas III was the heaviest space craft ever launched by the U,S. when it started toward its all -seeing orbit of 1,850 miles above the earth. Follow- ing a path that took it around the world nine times a day, the infra -red eye passed over every spot on earth at some time, looking for exhaust flames from possible enemy missiles. Its payload also could detect nuclear blasts. Once in orbit with its fuel exhausted, Midas weighed 3,500 pounds.' blood, sweat and tears. Already it has cost the lives of four workmen and caused more than 600 accidents. The miners are working un- der the most arduous conditions possible. The terrific heat inside. the tunnel saps a man's endur- ance as he performs even the least amount of work. A day's work is tackled in three eight-hour shifts and even with the many modern facilities provided, the tunnel is being cut at the rate of only thirty to forty feet a day. Fresh air is constantly pumped into the tunnel to the men but even so "sweat pours off us like a waterfall — it's hell itself in there," said one. After finishing their shift the men have to take lukewarm showers to, cool off and then put' on thick woolly clothing before emerging into open air again— so marked is the difference in temperatures. But beneath their hard-bitten appearance and continual air of discontent, all the miners share one ambition — to finish the tun- nel that is blighting their lives at the moment, To them it pre- sents a challenge, as it has from the day the first explosives cre- ated a small dent in the side of the mountain. Unable to calculate the ' tun- nel's route by orthodox survey- ing methods, the engineers have had to take their bearings from conspicuous peaks. Their estimations have been so good that when the two teams eventually blast open the thin shell of rock that finally se- parates them, the tunnel will be no more' than two inches out of true. Only the people of Chamonix view the tunnel with misgivings. They fear that the money from winter sports enthusiasts will find a fresh outlet in Italy when that country is only minutes away. Up to 380,000 vehicles a year are expected to use the tunnel, the Fr en ch exit of which emerges several miles away from Chamonix, Not without cause, many residents feel that motor- ists will drive straight on rather than snake a diversion to visit the town, "Chamonix could well become a ghost town in time," said one man. TRAINING TRAIN — One of Japan's top runners works out in Tokyo beside a remote controlled pace -maker. The motor- ized device contains d walkie-talkie system that advises the athlete as he jogs along, ♦'r�'i"'a�� //.hod`/%/.(i•� HIiONIC> ES liNGER FARM c-,..�naou�w. P. ad�r.e Well, when I finished this col- umn last week I was all set to go down to our local hospital for a- day's sewing and mending. The W,A. meets once a week for that purpose. But my planshad to be changed in a hurry. My nephew Kleini phoned from Mal - ton. He had taken his girl friend there to board a BOAC plane for England. When they got there they were told the flight had been delayed so Klemi wanted to know if I could put them up for the night, I made up a bed for Pam but arranged for Klemi to spend the night at a motel just around the corner from here. That.. too, had to be changed. When they arrived here it was to tell me that the BOAC heel arranged accommodation for its passengers at the Lord Sinecoe. So Kleini took Pam to Toronto and then came back here him- self. All next day they were back and forth, keeping in touch with Melton for latest flight re- ports. I still don't know what the delay was all about, something to do with a strike, but it must have- been on` the other side of the water. Pam finally took off about eleven o'clock Monday night. Klemi came back here, returning to Peterborough Tues- day morning. He couldn't stay longer as he had his passage booked on a boat leaving Mont- real Friday morning. It was all very confusing. By the time they had gone I felt as if I had been put through a wringer. It just shows how things you never ex- pected to concern you at all can end up by disrupting all your prearranged plans. Just as a pebble thrown into calm water creates ever widening circles, Thursday we did a little visit- ing ourselves. One call .was to a farm — the home of an aged couple in semi -retirement. Their ages 82 and 83!! The farm is a lovely spot, on top, of a hill, well wooded and with an ever -flow- ing creek running through the _ravine. Once it was a dairy farm • but now most of the land is down in pasutre; However, there is still plenty of livestock around — two cows, two calves, three pedigreed dogs, about a dozen cats, a number Of bantam hens and chickens and twenty-one goats!. The calves milk the cows but six of the goats are milked by hand --- standing on a plat- form that brings them up to a convenient level for milking, The nannies and their daughters were in one pasture field, the males in another:,in a stable, penned up by himself, was the old billy goat, father and grand- father to them all, He didn't have any horns but he sure had the longest beard Td ever seen. The farm is only a few miles from the centre of a residential and industrial development and vet it is so quiet and peaceful. It would appear there are still oc- casional unspoilt beauty spots if one knows Where to look tor them, From there we went on to visit Bob and Joy — and of course the two little fellows. There was plenty odactivity going on there! I think there were at least ten or twelve youngsters playing around in the back yard when we went in to supper. I asked Joy how she could stand it, "I sometimes wonder!" was the answer. From there we went to visit en old lady of 86, convalescing from a heart attack. Staying with her was a friend from Powassan who is a reader of this column. Looks as if I had better watch my step — there is no telling who I am likely to run into! Next day should have been a quiet day at home but Partner managed to create a little excite- ment when he was mowing the lawn by backing into a low stone wall and falling over it into the .drivewe,y. Because arthritis makes him so stiff and awkward he couldn't get up. Two neigh- bours saw what had happened and came along and helped him to his feet. I was at the back of the house and unaware of the ac- cident. NoW Partner has a nice sore shoulder to carry around around for a few days, so staff I have to help him get his clothes off and on. So that was our week, inter- spersed with plenty of rain, cold weather and: hot news from Par- liament Hill. The furnace still conies on at night. One night we saw Northern Lights, What kind of weather they indicate I don't know. Art he'd a letter from Dee giving him a long list of things she wanted at the cottage, in- cluding a bag of. coal! There shouldn't be too many mosquito- es and blackflies anyway. We still have quite a bit at summer visiting to do but the trouble is to find nice days to take to the road—no sense in starting out in bad weather. So far we have been lucky, How- ever, the weather seems to suit the trees and shrubs but the gar- den could do with less rain and more sunshine. Laughton With A Southern Accent Pudding- faced old trouper Charles Laughton took on a for- midable assignment. Converting one of the world's best-known British accents into the drowsy South Carolina tones of Sen Sea- bright B. Cooley in a forthcoming film adaptation of "Advise and Consent" Already steeping him- self in tape - recorded Southern drawls -- including that of for- mer Tennessee Gov, Frank Clem- ent — Laughton sized up his prospects of playing a believable Scab Cooley: "I don't know — I may stink. But it's a great chal- lenge and a great part" Why cast a Yorkshireman as a Dixie poll- tirian? Producer Otto Preminger explained: "t .,just think that Charles ,Laughton is the greatest living actor, and therefore he nen play anything," Tombstone inscription: el re lira an atheist alt dressed up and no Where to go. Modern -Etiquette By Anne Ashley Q. If one wishes to give a very good woman friend an engage - moat gift, should this he some- thing for. her 'personally or for her future home? A, Either' is correct. Q. Should the used silverware be gathered up before removing the plates from the dinner table? A. No; the silver should be left on the . plates, and all re- ecioved from the table together, Q, Will you plegse mention some of the duties of the best man at a wedding? A. The 'best man looks after the bridegroom, generally driv- ing him to the church. Re takes care of the ring, giving it to the- oridegroom at the proper mom- ent in the ceremony. He gives the clergyman his fee, and takes care of any tips incidental to the go- ing -away, being of course reim- bursed by the bridegroom at a convenient time. Q. Is it considered proper to furnish paper napkins toguests at meals in one's home?. A. Although this was at one time considered out -of -the -ques- tion, nowadays for all informal entertaining, paper napkins are not only perfectly proper, but very practical as well. Q. When placing' the cheirs for dinner, just how far under the table should they be pushed? A. The front edge of the chair should be in a perpendicular line with the edge of the table. Q. We have just recently mov- ed into a new neighborhood, and some of our neighbors have been kind enough_to call on us How soon should these calls be re- turned? A. Within two weeks,or there- abouts. Failure to rehire these calls would indicate to your ,neighbors that their frierdship mean nothing. Who's To Blame? Maybe, Ourselves ! With food, it is hard to decide whether we've progressed for- wards or backwards. Biologists have discovered how to breed strains of wheat that will flourish under almost any conditions. They understand the complex changes that take place when wheat is made into flour. and bread. But the only noticeable result is that it is almost impossible to buy a crisp, testy loaf with a good crust. Fishery experts working in the icy fishing grounds within the Arctic circle have discovered what governs the quality • of sea fish,. They have found that a single microbe on a dead fish multi- plies 64,000 times within eight hours, and affects the flavour. But who can remember the last time he tasted' a fish which had the sharp, clean tang of the sea? And the world has bungled its system of food distribution. Long years of painstaking re- search have shown us how to grow crops on hitherto barren land. And the yield of food from a given area of fertile land has been multiplied many times in the last sixty years. There is every indication that soon even the desert will be turned into good, crop -bearing land. It seems, sometimes, that we have too much food. In Ameri- ca, wheat and coffee are burn- ed because the price drops so low that it is not worth while paying freight charges to market centres, In Australia oranges and ap- ples are ploughed back into this earth for the same reason. But at.00 the,: same time, two- thirds o the ivorid's people are perpetual&etng on the starva- tion linea Millioisysttw�",.men, women oend children dib $iieiy year because they cannot get enough food to stay alive. Politics, many say, is the an- swer to that one. And it would not be difficult to find convincing excuses for all the muddling that goes on But, quite simply, the fault lies with human nature, with yole and with me. That is why the 'countryside is diminishing, why most of the people in the world are nc.ar starvation. While we talk with lofty ideals and pure motives about tha things we can do nothingabout, when something affects us per- sonally, especially same sort of scientific progress, our main concern is what we can get out of it. Perhaps, in a thousand years or so, we—the human race — can make ourselves into better people. Let's hope there will be time, Fun to Crochet Clothe.?1Y EtPgt, Add this lacy pair to your doily collection—or crochet them for gifts, bazaar sellers. Use these doilies for luncheon, buffet sets=spot them here 'n' there . to protect tables. Pattern '722: directions for two do:lies in No, 30 cotton. Send THIRTY - FIVE CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety) fox this pattern to Laura Wheeler, Box 10 123 Eighteenth St., New Toronto, Ont. Print plainly PATTERN NUMBER, your NAME and AD- DRESS. JUST OFF THE PRESS! Send now for our exciting, new 1961 Needlecraft Catalog. Over 125 designs to crochet, knit, sew, embroider, quilt, weave -- fash- ions, homefurnishings, toys gifts..: bazaar hits. Plus FREE—Instruc- tions for six, smart veil caps. Hur- ry, send 25¢ now! ISSUE 30 — 1961 FEATHER DANCER — The fellow with the feathers on top is Jose Mendez. The 12 -year-old descendant of the ancient Zapotec, Indians of Mille, Mexico, takes part in the famous feather dance of his ancestors. The.students make the costumes as a part of the curriculum of the Oaxaca public school system. The gigantic feather headpiece and castor•,.a dela back to the 12t11 . century.